This invention relates to a pump end swivel for a coaxial hose and more particularly to a pump end swivel for interconnecting the gasoline dispensing hose and nozzle with the gasoline dispensing pump or pedestal which supplies the gasoline to facilitate the use of a coaxial hose to permit the inner hose to carry the liquid fuel and the outer hose to carry the displaced vapor to the gasoline dispensing pump or pedestal for collection or entrapment.
It is conventional practice to store volatile hydrocarbon fuel such as gasoline at a service station in underground reservoirs from which the gasoline is pumped into the fuel tank of a customer's vehicle. As these fuel tanks are filled with gasoline, the vaporized fuel in the vehicle tank is displaced therefrom and escapes into the surrounding atmosphere. It has been found desirable from the standpoint of preventing pollution to recover and return to the underground tanks or some appropriate vessel the volatile vapors of the gasoline during such filling operations. The present invention is directed to the use of a coaxial hose with a pump end swivel to facilitate the storage of the coiled hose in its inoperative position on the pump such that it may be readily uncoiled for use without kinking. The use of a coaxial hose as a fuel dispensing conduit as well as means for retrieving the vapors presents bulk and manueverability problems which interfere with the coiling of the hose in its inoperative position. With the use of the pump end swivel of the present invention, the coiling of the hose is facilitated for storage in a coil that is parallel to the side of the dispensing pump when pulled into position by the retriever cable of the pump hose dispenser.
The present invention's use of the approximate 180.degree. rotation of the pump end swivel in cooperation with the fuel dispensing hose permits the hose to be deployed on either side of the gasoline dispensing pump or dispenser without twisting the hose, otherwise a twist would develop as the hose was deployed from one side of the island to the other side of the island. The present invention simplifies the use of a bulky coaxial hose by the utilization of the self-retracting feature of a hose swivel and a retriever line and the fact of the low location of the swivel on the dispensing pump and movement in a plane parallel to the side of the pump achieves a better and more efficient self-retracting hose assembly which utilizes gravity to drain any fluids that might enter the vapor return line by improper operation of the dispensing nozzle.
The present invention provides a pump end swivel for a coaxial hose to maintain separate passageways for the fuel and the vapors while allowing greater flexibility in use of the coaxial hose.